How to spot a scam email and what to do

Have you ever opened your inbox and found an email that looks suspicious but you’re not sure? Maybe it’s from a customer who claims they’ve ordered something that hasn’t arrived but you have no record of the sale, an ‘oceanographer’ who needs an item sent to an oil rig, or someone asking about alternative ways to pay. How do you know which one is from a genuine customer and which one isn’t? Most are easy to spot but some are designed to catch out even seasoned scam spotters.

On Folksy we take your security very seriously and our messaging system has protections in place to make sure we catch as many scam emails as possible so they don’t even reach you. From time to time though, as with all spam filters, some malicious emails will get through. To help keep you safe online, we’ve put together tips for spotting those nasty emails that you’re best to avoid (including the tell-tale signs of a scam message), as well as advice on what to do if you do accidentally open, click on or reply to a scam email.

What are scam emails?

Online scams usually work by:

1. Tricking you into giving out your personal details or sensitive information (phishing), or
2. Tricking you into making a payment to someone you think you can trust (fraud)

Example scam 1:

One of the most common scams across online selling platforms, including Folksy, is what’s known as the Nigerian 419 scam or the Advanced Fee fraud. What the fraudster is trying to get you to do is transfer money into their bank account. They do this by agreeing to buy your item/s by a direct payment to your Paypal account (including a large amount to cover courier costs), then asking you to transfer the shipping fee to their account (often to a Western Union account). However, the email that appears to be from Paypal telling you have received money relating to this order is likely to be fake. So the shipping fee that you transfer out of your account will be your own money. 

The email is often something like this:

Hello Seller

I came across your item on here, i would like to buy the item. Is it ready for the immediate purchase. Before i process with the payment i will Like to ask about the item…

1. is the item still available for sale?
2. what is the present condition of the item?
3. do you accept Paypal as your mode of payment?
4. what is the final asking price?

Kindly get back to me with your reply.

Read more about this scam here >

Example scam 2:

We have also experienced a scam where a number of our sellers were contacted about an invalid order. This scam asked Folksy sellers to sort out a missing order (see image below). A screenshot of the Paypal receipt was attached as proof. This email was a hoax, designed to encourage sellers to click on the screenshot, which contained a virus.

This particular scam email said:

Subject: Invalid order / Mistake order

Hi dear seller about a few days ago, I bought your stuff, but I still do not get this position in my account, although I have this transaction in my paypal account, I called Folksy client support, they advised me to contact you, attached a screenshots of my paypal and folksy accounts.

Here are screenshots:
[link]

Please help me understand about the situation.

You can read more about this specific scam and what we did to prevent it happening again here >

Example scam 3:

In another more sophisticated scam recently, someone hacked into a Folksy user’s account and used it to send out emails via our internal messaging system to other sellers. These emails came from the noreply@folksy.co.uk address and pretended to be from the Folksy team. The emails asked users to verify their Folksy account by confirming their bank details in order to remove restrictions and activate their Folksy account. The email was a hoax.

Here are some tips from Action Fraud on how to protect yourself from scammers

Scams are constantly evolving – they take many forms and can be simple or sophisticated. So be alert and take a few minutes read this article https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/individual-protection.

We recommend familiarising yourself with common online scams, the tell-tale signs of what to look for and how to protect yourself. We have summarised some of the the main points from Action Fraud that are relevant for Folksy sellers here, but please do also read their full advice:

1. Do not give any personal information (name, address, bank details, email or phone number) before verifying their credentials. If you get an unsolicited text or email claiming to be from Folksy, requesting your personal or financial information (name, address, bank details, email or phone number) and are not sure whether it is genuine, always email us at support@folksy.co.uk to confirm whether it is genuine.

2. Make sure you have installed the latest software and app updates, and that your computer has up-to-date anti-virus software and a firewall installed. Protect your email account and your Folksy account with a strong, separate password, and enable two-factor authentication, where available – eg on your social media accounts and other apps.

3. Many frauds start with a phishing email. Do not trust emails asking you to click on a link and confirm your bank details, even if they look genuine. Never automatically click on a link in an unexpected email or text. Email addresses can be spoofed, so don’t use those as a means to verify that a message is authentic (eg Scam Email Example 3 above, which came from the noreply@folksy.co.uk email address).

How to spot a scam email: the tell-tale signs

Scam emails are becoming more sophisticated but there are some signs to look for when you get a suspicious email and you’re not sure whether it’s from a genuine buyer or a scam. Here are some key giveaways:

• The email is addressed to ‘Seller’ or something other than your name or your shop name
• It contains poor English, spelling or grammar
• Details about the order are vague or confusing
• It contains a link to click on or a file to download
• It tells you they’ve been in touch with Folksy Support but we haven’t emailed you
• You weren’t expecting to get an email from us
• It asks you to give out passwords, bank details or other sensitive information
• It asks you to pay a bill or money owed that you weren’t expecting
• They want to make a large payment to you outside of Folksy and/or PayPal
• A sense of urgency, for example that unless you act immediately your account may be closed
• The entire text of the email is contained within an image rather than the usual text format.
• The image contains an embedded hyperlink to a bogus site

What should you do if you get a scam email

If you are at all suspicious of any message sent to you through Folksy, please don’t click any links or reply until you hear from us. Please forward the email to us at support@folksy.com with any other details you feel may be important, and we’ll usually get back to you within a few hours. If you receive a potential scam email outside work hours or over the weekend, contact us on the urgent@folksy.co.uk address.

• Do not click on any links in the scam email.
• Do not reply to the email or contact the senders in any way.
• If you have clicked on a link in the email, do not supply any information on the page or website that may open.
• Do not open any attachments that arrive with the email.

What to do if you click on a scam email

• If you have not replied to the email or clicked a link, there shouldn’t be any risk. Please just report it to us and delete the email.
• If you have replied to the email, the sender may see your email address. We would advise that you change your email password. Choose a strong, complex password.
• If you receive a reply from their email address, mark the email as spam and block them.
• If you have clicked a link in an email that you think contains malicious code, or if you think you may have compromised the safety of your bank details or cards, contact your bank immediately and report the incident to Action Fraud 
• You can also contact Citizens Advice for more advice

Important: do not mark any emails from noreply@folksy.com or robot@folksy.com as spam as this will block emails from Folksy.

What to do if you are affected by a scam or online fraud

If you are affected by a scam or a victim of online fraud, you should report it to us at support@folksy.co.uk and to the following organisations:

• Action Fraud (0300 123 2040)
• Citizens Advice (08454 04 05 06)
• PayPal
• Your local police station, using non-emergency number 101

We hope all the advice contained in this blog post is useful. If you have received any scam emails, please do remember to email our support team at support@folksy.co.uk so we can take action and warn other users.